NOT IN A GIVING MOOD
12/22/2025 9:21:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Bears record season-low four turnovers in 111-67 rout of Southern
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
WACO, Texas – Four days before Christmas, the Baylor men were not in a very giving mood, turning it over a season-low four times and shooting a sizzling 53% from outside the 3-point arc in routing the Southern University Jaguars Sunday afternoon at Foster Pavilion.
Freshman Tounde Yessoufou led five double-figure scorers with a career-high 28 points, the last two coming on a breakaway dunk off a block by Cameron Carr on the other end to give the Bears (9-2) a 37-point lead with 3:19 left in the game.
Carr, who chipped in with 22 points and six assists, said he's never surprised by what his freshman teammate does on the basketball court.
"I just tell him every day, 'Man, the way you go at me in practice, go at these dudes,''' Carr said. "I was like, 'Every day in practice, you want to take my head off. So, every time you step on the court, do the same thing to them. Nobody's going to be mad at you.' I love the aggression that he has, and staying poised, and showing a lot of growth and consistency. He's just a great player.'''
After scoring a combined 224 points in their last two games, the Bears go into an extended seven-day Christmas break with the momentum of a three-game winning streak and winning five of their last six games.
"The last game before Christmas, you're always nervous," Baylor coach Scott Drew said. "And especially with Southern (4-8), because they played Washington at Washington, double-overtime game. We know how good Washington is. . . . They definitely caught our attention. First half, we didn't do some things that we've been doing that's made us really good. We regrouped in the second half, and I thought we did a much better job offensively."
The impressive second-half performance completely overshadowed a slow start that saw the Bears fall behind 12-6 in the first four minutes. Scoring 10 points in a one-minute stretch, Baylor took the lead for good on 3-pointers by Carr and Yessoufou and was up 40-31 at the break.
"I would say it's definitely the energy," said Carr, who scored 22 points in 23 minutes. "There are definitely areas where we still need to improve., like coming out a little bit slower. I think we were a little slow coming out. I think it's just taking care of what's in front of us. I feel like we emphasized that at halftime, just figuring out what they were falling asleep on and just going at it over and over again."
After shooting a shade under 40% in the first half, including 5-of-15 from outside the arc, the Bears hit six of their first nine shots and went on a 24-6 run in the first 5 ½ minutes of the second half to push the lead to 64-37.
Baylor was a sizzling 12-of-17 (70.6%) from 3-point range in the second half and finished 17-of-32 outside the arc, its most made 3-pointers since hitting 17 versus Kansas State during the 2021 national championship run.
Scoring 16 second-half points, Yessoufou knocked down two 3-pointers and was near perfect, going 5-of-6 from the field and 4-for-4 from the line. With the game well in hand, Carr assisted on a 3-pointer by Dan Skillings Jr., and then blocked a Cam Amboree shot past halfcourt, directly leading to Yessoufou's breakaway dunk that put the Bears up, 97-60.
"Every time he steps on the court, he surprises everybody," Carr said of Yessoufou.
Inserted with just over three minutes left, walk-on guards Will Kuykendall and Drew Perry nailed three 3-pointers in a stretch that also included a trey by Skillings, who had six rebounds and five assists to go with 17 points.
"We're really happy, first off, to get them in the game," said 6-9 center Caden Powell, who had 15 rebounds, one off the career high he set in Friday's 113-56 win over Alcorn State. "That's a result of what we did on the court. Then, for them to come in and make those shots, it was really fun and exciting for everybody."
Drew said you could "see the bench and the team's excitement" when Kuykendall and Perry went 3-for-3 from 3-point range in the last 2 ½ minutes.
"Will came in and knocked two down, and then Drew, that was a tough shot, too. I really couldn't be more pleased and happy for them."
The Bears will return after the Christmas break to face the Arlington Baptist Patriots (2-7) on Dec. 29 before opening Big 12 play with a road game on Jan. 3 at TCU (9-3). The Horned Frogs defeated then-No. 10 Florida last month and have reeled off four-straight wins since an overtime loss to Notre Dame.
Baylor Bear Insider
WACO, Texas – Four days before Christmas, the Baylor men were not in a very giving mood, turning it over a season-low four times and shooting a sizzling 53% from outside the 3-point arc in routing the Southern University Jaguars Sunday afternoon at Foster Pavilion.
Freshman Tounde Yessoufou led five double-figure scorers with a career-high 28 points, the last two coming on a breakaway dunk off a block by Cameron Carr on the other end to give the Bears (9-2) a 37-point lead with 3:19 left in the game.
Carr, who chipped in with 22 points and six assists, said he's never surprised by what his freshman teammate does on the basketball court.
"I just tell him every day, 'Man, the way you go at me in practice, go at these dudes,''' Carr said. "I was like, 'Every day in practice, you want to take my head off. So, every time you step on the court, do the same thing to them. Nobody's going to be mad at you.' I love the aggression that he has, and staying poised, and showing a lot of growth and consistency. He's just a great player.'''
After scoring a combined 224 points in their last two games, the Bears go into an extended seven-day Christmas break with the momentum of a three-game winning streak and winning five of their last six games.
"The last game before Christmas, you're always nervous," Baylor coach Scott Drew said. "And especially with Southern (4-8), because they played Washington at Washington, double-overtime game. We know how good Washington is. . . . They definitely caught our attention. First half, we didn't do some things that we've been doing that's made us really good. We regrouped in the second half, and I thought we did a much better job offensively."
The impressive second-half performance completely overshadowed a slow start that saw the Bears fall behind 12-6 in the first four minutes. Scoring 10 points in a one-minute stretch, Baylor took the lead for good on 3-pointers by Carr and Yessoufou and was up 40-31 at the break.
"I would say it's definitely the energy," said Carr, who scored 22 points in 23 minutes. "There are definitely areas where we still need to improve., like coming out a little bit slower. I think we were a little slow coming out. I think it's just taking care of what's in front of us. I feel like we emphasized that at halftime, just figuring out what they were falling asleep on and just going at it over and over again."
After shooting a shade under 40% in the first half, including 5-of-15 from outside the arc, the Bears hit six of their first nine shots and went on a 24-6 run in the first 5 ½ minutes of the second half to push the lead to 64-37.
Baylor was a sizzling 12-of-17 (70.6%) from 3-point range in the second half and finished 17-of-32 outside the arc, its most made 3-pointers since hitting 17 versus Kansas State during the 2021 national championship run.
Scoring 16 second-half points, Yessoufou knocked down two 3-pointers and was near perfect, going 5-of-6 from the field and 4-for-4 from the line. With the game well in hand, Carr assisted on a 3-pointer by Dan Skillings Jr., and then blocked a Cam Amboree shot past halfcourt, directly leading to Yessoufou's breakaway dunk that put the Bears up, 97-60.
"Every time he steps on the court, he surprises everybody," Carr said of Yessoufou.
Inserted with just over three minutes left, walk-on guards Will Kuykendall and Drew Perry nailed three 3-pointers in a stretch that also included a trey by Skillings, who had six rebounds and five assists to go with 17 points.
"We're really happy, first off, to get them in the game," said 6-9 center Caden Powell, who had 15 rebounds, one off the career high he set in Friday's 113-56 win over Alcorn State. "That's a result of what we did on the court. Then, for them to come in and make those shots, it was really fun and exciting for everybody."
Drew said you could "see the bench and the team's excitement" when Kuykendall and Perry went 3-for-3 from 3-point range in the last 2 ½ minutes.
"Will came in and knocked two down, and then Drew, that was a tough shot, too. I really couldn't be more pleased and happy for them."
The Bears will return after the Christmas break to face the Arlington Baptist Patriots (2-7) on Dec. 29 before opening Big 12 play with a road game on Jan. 3 at TCU (9-3). The Horned Frogs defeated then-No. 10 Florida last month and have reeled off four-straight wins since an overtime loss to Notre Dame.
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/ Men's BasketballBaylor Basketball (M): Postgame vs. Southern | December 21, 2025
Monday, December 22
Baylor Basketball (M): Tounde Yessoufou Pregame Interview with TNT Sports | December 21, 2025
Monday, December 22
Baylor Basketball (M): Tounde Yessoufou (28 PTS) vs. Southern | December 21, 2025
Sunday, December 21
Baylor Basketball (M): Dan Skillings Jr. (17 PTS) vs. Southern | December 21, 2025
Sunday, December 21
